Remember the promise we made
by FanofBellaandEdward
Summary: Side story Survival of the fittest. Severus might not be fond of Valentine's day, but for Lucius he will make an exception. They may not be the most romantic couple, but Severus couldn't imagine wanting someone else than Lucius by his side. Lucius agrees with this sentiment and decides he wants to fulfil their promise. Slash; implied lemon; referenced MPreg; other warnings in story


**Author's note: This oneshot is the Valentine's day scene between Severus and Lucius. It's a side story to Survival of the fittest - this oneshot can be read on its own, but as there are multiple references to my other story Survival of the fittest, it can become confusing at some points.**

**Funny thing: when I started writing this oneshot, I thought I wouldn't be able to write more than 3 000 words at most - it eventually became a bit more than 6 000 words.**

**Warnings: implied lemon; short slice of angst (really tiny one); Severus' point of view; referenced MPreg; mention of miscarriage in the past (not of the main characters).**

**Random note: writing this couple is somehow more difficult than writing Sirius and Remus together *sweatdrops* I hope I didn't screw up too badly.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling owns it.**

**I hope you'll enjoy this oneshot!**

* * *

_Remember the promise we made_

"Do you have other reports?" Minerva asked in a clipped voice. Her gaze was as piercing as the one of the animal she had as her Animagus.

Severus shook his head. Surprisingly none of the students in his classes this week had acted stupid enough to warrant a detention. He assumed the lack of stupidity was due to the fact that today it was Valentine's day and none of the students had wanted to risk having detention today. He wasn't optimistic enough to believe that those dunderheads had finally acquired a brain.

"Smith was trying to taunt Harry, but aside from that, nothing really happened," Black replied casually and shrugged. He and Lupin had taken the seats in front of Minerva's desk while Severus had chosen to lean against the wall.

"Trying?" she repeated and raised an eyebrow.

Black grinned viciously. "Yeah, he didn't completely succeed."

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please tell me that Mister Potter didn't curse him," she said exasperatedly.

"Nah, he didn't do anything. Garin on the other hand did react," Black replied satisfied.

"The nurse didn't mention a student being brought in with a snake bite," she remarked suspiciously.

"I didn't say Garin attacked the little wanker. Merely showing his head was enough to make the idiot run away," Black chuckled; his eyes glinting merrily.

"Please refrain from insulting the students," Minerva admonished him sharply.

"Has there been any disturbance in the wards?" Lupin inquired calmly.

"No, the wards are still untouched," she replied and clucked her tongue. "If that is all, you may take your leave."

Without taking another look at the canine pair, Severus descended the stairs again after giving the old cat a curt nod.

It was nearing dinner time, but he had no plans of attending dinner in the Great Hall. Lucius had Owled him, asking whether he would be willing to visit him at Malfoy Manor. He had had no reason to refuse and so after taking a shower to scrub off all the grime, sweat and potion stains, he selected a pair of black slacks and black turtleneck sweater to wear. Making sure that his wand was securely in his pocket, he walked over to the fireplace.

"Are Draco and Potter still in Potter's quarters?" he asked brusquely, glancing at the three Founders.

Salazar smirked. "Yes, they are. I doubt either one of them will leave before tomorrow morning."

Severus grimaced slightly, not wanting to think of what those two were doing right at this moment.

"Are you expecting to come back tonight?" Rowena asked and her dark eyes shone amused over the book she was holding up.

"Knowing that fool, probably not," he murmured and opened the jar of Floo powder.

The fire flared up green when the pinch of Floo powder was thrown in it and he stepped into the flames, calling out, "Malfoy Manor!"

A house elf – one with solemn, crystal blue eyes – was already awaiting his arrival and led him through the hallway until he was standing in one of the rooms the Malfoy family often used to entertain their guests.

At this moment, instead of Lucius, Narcissa was seated at the large, cherry wooden table. Her hair was put up in an intricate knot; two blonde, curled strands left out to fall across her cheeks. A thin, silver necklace with a single sapphire stone adorned her slim neck and her finger boosted the ring Potter had given her last Christmas. She wore a dark blue gown with a band of roses stitched in silver thread around the edges of her long sleeves. The dark blue colour accentuated her fair skin and made her look like she was glowing.

When Severus entered the room, she was reading a magazine, but she looked up once she heard his footsteps.

She gave him a warm smile. "Severus, good evening."

"Good evening, Narcissa," he greeted in return. "You look beautiful. Lucius didn't mention you had plans tonight."

"The plan suddenly came up yesterday," she informed him after closing the magazine. A quick glance at the cover told him that it was a magazine aimed at expecting witches. "Miss Zabini contacted me yesterday. She has asked my help to plan the wedding between her son and Daphne Greengrass."

He quirked an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware that Mister Zabini had proposed to his girlfriend," he remarked.

She shook her head. "He hasn't as of yet. He does have plans apparently and his mother insists on doing most of the preparation work now instead of waiting until her son proposes," she replied and sighed softly. "I normally would not care to help with a wedding that is not of my son, but I could hardly refuse her. Her son and Draco have been friends for years and she did help Lucius with some of his business." She threw him a small smile. "Besides, I figured it would be in both of our best interests if I am not present tonight."

If winking saucily wasn't frowned upon in the Pureblood society, he was certain Narcissa would have done it.

He gave her a sneer in response. "What has Lucius been telling you?"

"Nothing in particular," she chuckled and leant forwards a bit. "How are Draco and Harry doing?"

Severus eyed her carefully, wondering how much she knew. Would she still act this happy if she had known what had happened last Sunday? "Did Draco sent you a letter this week?"

"Yes, he did. I've asked him to write me every week if possible. He told me they have finally felt the baby kick," she replied and her eyes shone with badly hidden excitement before she got a hold on herself. She threw him a contemplative look. "Should he have mentioned anything else?"

"There was a slight … uproar last Sunday," he answered slowly and chose to sit down, figuring it would still be a while before Lucius would show up.

A slight tension entered her shoulders and her ice blue eyes narrowed slightly. "What happened?" Narcissa asked sharply.

_Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut_, the sour thought flashed through his head. One thing worse than a concerned mother, was a concerned future grandmother.

"Severus, do tell me what happened," she repeated; her voice having significantly cooled down.

Severus did not doubt for one second that underneath the table a wand was aimed at his body.

He relented with an annoyed sigh. "Potter received a package from Albus last Sunday. Apparently someone has discovered the pregnancy and has informed the old fool about it. The package contained a dead, unborn baby boy," he explained and his mouth formed a thin line.

Narcissa sunk back in her chair and one of her hands came up to cover her mouth while her eyes widened. "How did he manage to get a package through the wards? Shouldn't an alarm have gone off?"

"The wards have been adjusted and Minerva has asked the centaurs to keep an eye on the borders as well," he said calmly.

"This shouldn't have happened in the first place," she retorted sharply.

He gave her a narrow eyed look. "I agree; it shouldn't have happened, but it did and there is nothing we can change about that."

"How is Harry?"

"He was shocked, of course, but he quickly recovered. Lupin examined him to make certain nothing was wrong," he said calmly. He had no desire to row with Narcissa about the incident.

She seemed to calm down after being reassured that nothing was wrong with Potter or her unborn grandchild and nodded. "He could stay here," she remarked, placing her hands on the table. "The wards are strong enough to protect him. That bastard wouldn't be able to even come in a radius of ten miles without setting off an alarm."

"Potter was offered that chance and he decided that he didn't want to run away." His lip curled up; moments like that one made him wonder how on earth Potter had managed to survive for so long. His lack of self-preservation was rather disconcerting.

"Maybe I should send them some devices that could help protect them," Narcissa murmured and her eyes gained a distant sheen, as if she was trying to decide which rare Malfoy artefact would be suitable to serve as extra protection for Potter and his brat.

"I will leave that up to your discretion," Severus retorted dryly. He glanced back at the closed magazine. "Are you still working on the nursery of Draco's manor?"

"Their manor," she corrected him and shook her head with a smile. "No, I finished that one a week ago. I will be taking pictures of it next week, so that I can send them to Draco and Harry. I doubt they will object to the changes I made, but they are the ones in charge of the manor."

"If that's the case, why are you still looking through that magazine? Having doubts about your own creation?" His lips twitched amused.

She looked offended. "Of course not! You know very well that all my decoration projects have turned out perfect as expected." She tapped the magazine with two fingers; her blue painted nails a stark contrast to her pale skin. "No, I am making plans for the nursery in this manor."

Severus stared at her; once again wondering just what was going through her head. "Why would a nursery be necessary?" he asked flatly.

"It is for the times when my grandchild stays here of course," she replied blithely. "Taking care of a baby is tiring even with the help of house elves and I am certain Draco and Harry will appreciate the times when Lucius and I will babysit the baby, in order for them to have some personal time together."

"You are shameless," he remarked and shook his head.

"Not shameless; I am just taking care of my family like every Pureblood witch ought to do," she retorted calmly.

_Potter really doesn't know what kind of family he's joining_, Severus thought exasperatedly and then frowned slightly when he realised that as of a year he was now also considered a part of the Malfoy family.

Why again had he thought it a good idea to accept Lucius' offer of a date when they were younger?

Both Severus and Narcissa looked up when the door opened and Lucius entered the room. He was – as always – impeccably dressed in fine, black robes, trimmed with silver around the edges of his collar and sleeves.

"Apologies for making you wait, Severus," Lucius greeted him with a small smile. His gaze turned to his ex-wife. "You look beautiful as always, 'Cissa."

She rose up from her chair and an elf popped up to take away the magazine. "Thank you, Lucius."

"Give my best wishes to Madame Zabini, would you? Her input in the latest case was very helpful," Lucius mentioned offhandedly.

"I will let her know." She gave both men a nod and her high heels tapped sharply against the shining tiles when she walked to the door. "Have a nice evening." Both she and Lucius shared a peculiar look, but Severus shook it off. He had grown used to their silent communication after years of visiting them and witnessing them interacting with each other. They being separated now did not mean that they lost their unique ability to communicate.

Once the door fell shut behind Narcissa, Lucius directed a warm smile at Severus and approached him, dipping his head quickly to kiss him on his lips.

"I'm glad you were able to come," he said and gestured towards the door. "The house elves are preparing dinner for us in the small dining room. Would you like to join me?" He held out his arm expectantly while a smirk lingered on his face.

Severus narrowed his eyes and snorted softly, allowing the blond man to hook their arms together. "What would you do if I refused to join you?"

Lucius chuckled and together they made their way to the small dining room – though his definition of small and the Malfoys' definition of small vastly differed, as the entire room could easily fit his entire quarters in Hogwarts and still have some space to spare.

The long, rectangular table that Severus remembered from previous visits had been exchanged for smaller, round one. It was still big enough to host at least six people around it, but at least now the distance between him and Lucius wouldn't be that big, as would have been the case with the former table.

Once they had taken their seats – of course the chairs were made out of the best wood and had several enchantments on them to ensure that the person sitting in them would be comfortable at all times – five house elves silently appeared and started filling table with various dishes of which the steam rose up in the air. A bottle of red wine was presented to Lucius and at his nod, the house elf started filling their glasses with the bitter sweet liquid.

As soon as all dishes were present and the two men had their plates filled with delicious looking food, the house elves disappeared again, leaving their master and the guest alone.

"How did the meeting go?" Severus asked idly and speared his fork through a tender piece of grilled chicken breast.

"Meeting?" Lucius repeated confused.

"I assume that is why you were later than usual," Severus explained, studying the man in front of him. He looked a bit tired, as if he hadn't had a decent sleep last night. Some worry lines were edged into his forehead as well.

"I did not have meetings today." Lucius shook his head and took a sip of his wine. He let out a soft sigh. "I was preoccupied by a stack of information my cousin sent me this morning. I lost track of time and that is why I was later."

"Is that information troubling you?" the Potions Master murmured, leaning back in his chair.

Lucius' hand twitched a bit and his lips thinned. "I am not certain whether this particular topic of conversation is suitable for this evening," he said lightly, but his voice carried an undertone of worry.

Severus quirked an eyebrow. "You might as well talk about it now, because you worrying about it the entire time will spoil the evening as well," he pointed out calmly. He wouldn't pressure Lucius into confessing what was on his mind, but he had no desire either to spend the entire evening with a brooding Malfoy.

Lucius rolled his shoulders and shifted a bit in his chair, but he relented with a strained smile. "You're right. It's probably best if I talk about it now." He paused and seemed to contemplate how to start.

Severus remained quiet, letting the other man take his time, while he continued to eat. For some reason, despite the fact that both meals were prepared by house elves, the dishes in Malfoy Manor always tasted better than the ones he ate in Hogwarts.

Not that he would admit that particular fact to Lucius – that man's ego was big enough already; he didn't need any further fuel for it.

"You remember that I asked you to prepare the potion that will help Harry during the delivery?" Lucius asked, seemingly out of the blue.

Severus nodded slowly; not understanding immediately what this had to do with the information that troubled the blond. "Yes; it's almost finished. It will need another month to rest, but then it will be done."

"That is good news," Lucius murmured and his eyes gazed at a point past Severus' shoulder. "My cousin sent me more information regarding Lucian's experiments. It appears that the information we found about the charm was not complete."

"In what kind of way?" Severus asked blandly and stilled.

"Lucian has apparently omitted some important information regarding the creation of the charm and potion," Lucius continued and his shoulders tensed slightly. "I can only guess that he thought the end result was more important to broadcast in the books than his failures during the development, but this doesn't excuse it."

Severus' silence prompted the older man to continue.

"Lucian devoted himself to inventing a way for him and Henry Potter to have children of their own," the blond man started contemplatively. "Given his skill for charms, he of course decided to invent a charm to gain heirs. You recall how the text stated that they had four children?"

The Potions Master nodded, enraptured by the store in spite of himself.

"Like I said: the text doesn't contain all information. Or should I say, it has decided to ignore certain facts." Grey eyes deepened in frustration. "If everything had gone according to plan, they would have had six children in total."

"What happened to the other two?"

"Henry miscarried the first time," Lucius replied softly. "New charms are tricky in the beginning and there was no other test subject but Henry. The charm wasn't strong enough to maintain the womb and he miscarried when he was five months along." He placed his fork and knife back on the time, obviously having lost his appetite for the moment. "Like every inventor, Lucian improved the charm until it was strong enough to maintain the womb until the baby was full grown and ready to be born."

"If he managed that, what happened to the second one?"

"After nearly losing his husband after the first successful pregnancy, Lucian decided to develop a potion that would help during the delivery. Unfortunately, his potion skills weren't at the same level as his charm skills and when Henry became pregnant for the third time, the baby died during the delivery as the potion wasn't modified enough."

Severus stayed quiet this time. What could he say? It was unfortunate that Henry Potter had lost two children, but it wasn't like they could do anything with that information. Complications could always happen when one was inventing something. Severus couldn't count the times his potion failed on one hand, because he was trying out something new.

"Reading that particular information made me realise how easily Harry could lose the baby," Lucius said softly and his eyes were firmly fixed on the wall behind his lover. "I am a realistic man, Severus, but I could not bear the thought of losing my grandchild, simply because the magic aiding it became faulty."

"Have I given you reason to doubt my potion skills?" Severus spoke up coolly. He had understood the implication: Lucius wanted to be certain that the potion he was brewing would work correctly. Severus was not a man who boasted about his skills, but he was confident that currently nobody could rival his skills when it came to brewing potions.

"Never." The tense jaw was replaced by a relaxed smile. "I completely trust you. I was merely stating my worries as I am certain every future grandfather does."

"Don't worry; Potter will be able to deliver the brat safely," Severus said in a curt voice.

"Don't call your step grandchild a brat," Lucius chuckled and before the other man could form a retort, a single piece of paper was placed in front of him.

Severus took it up and scanned it; surprise coursing through him when he realised what exactly he was holding in his hand. "This is …"

"The official paper stating that Narcissa and I are fully divorced now," Lucius smiled and nodded. "It took quite a while to get the procedure completed as we unfortunately encountered a lawyer who upholds the old traditions, but it was finalized this week."

"So what's my status now?" Severus asked and smirked. "I was your secret lover before – am I now your official partner?"

It was merely asked in jest; he couldn't care less what label was stuck on him. While he had indeed told Lucius that he wouldn't have anything to do with him as long as he stayed married to Narcissa, the moment Narcissa had officially given up her place next to Lucius – even if the papers hadn't been finalized then – Severus had barely protested when Lucius wanted to take up their relationship where they had left it off.

"I was actually thinking more along the lines of Bound Partner," Lucius retorted lightly and his eyes glittered mischievously.

Black eyes stared at him in shock. "What?"

A hand reached out to grab his and wouldn't let go even when he tugged at it.

"Lucius, what kind of insanity are you …"

"Remember the promise we made a year before Draco was born?" Lucius interrupted him.

He glanced away with a frown. Of course he remembered that promise; how could he forget? It had been two days before Lucius was set to marry Narcissa and he had cornered Severus in an alleyway near Diagon Alley when the Potions Master had been browsing for ingredients for a new potion he had been trying to concoct. Severus hadn't wanted to meet Lucius during that period, because he felt nauseous at the thought that he had to play nice with his future wife, just because his relationship with the Malfoy heir hadn't been considered valid in the eyes of Lucius' father. When the older man had finally managed to corner him – his face in a rare display of flushed cheeks and madly glittering grey eyes – he had made Severus promise him he would agree to a Bonding as soon as he managed to divorce Narcissa.

At that time, Severus had agreed with the thought in the back of his mind that a Bonding would never happen as Narcissa was raised with the old, Pureblood values. There was no way she would ever step down from her place as the spouse of a Malfoy heir.

In fact, Severus had warned Lucius about it, stating it was ridiculous to make promises they wouldn't be able to fulfil. Lucius had just chuckled brightly and had pressed a harsh kiss on his mouth, once again asking him whether he wanted to be Bound to him as soon as he threw off the shackles of his marriage. Eventually Severus had given in once he had realised how serious Lucius was.

Their promise had been lingering in the back of his mind throughout all those years; it occasionally wrestled itself to the front on significant days like Lucius' wedding day; the day Draco was born; the day he had been asked to be Draco's godfather …

Severus was not an optimistic man and so he had never entertained the thought that one day they would actually be able to fulfil their promise.

He should have known that Malfoys always got what they wanted.

"Severus?" Lucius prompted him.

He turned back with a scowl, finally managing in tugging his hand back. "Yes, of course I remember." He threw a wary glance at the papers. "You still want to perform a Bonding?"

Lucius looked almost offended at having his desire questioned. "Of course I still want to Bond with you. Did you think I was joking all those years ago?"

"Not joking, no," Severus murmured, his eyes downcast.

A pale hand entered his vision and closed around his own hand.

"Is your answer still the same as eighteen years ago?" Lucius asked softly; his voice deep.

Severus looked up and threw him an exasperated scowl. "Even if it had changed, you would have done everything you could in order to convince me to agree," he muttered darkly.

"A simple 'yes, Lucius' would have sufficed," Lucius retorted dryly, but a small smile played around his lips.

"Does Narcissa know about this?" Severus asked warily when he recalled the peculiar look she had shared with her ex-husband.

"Yes, she does," his lover admitted and sounded a bit sheepish. "You know keeping things from her is rather difficult."

Severus just shook his head, but hid his amused smile. He wasn't exactly surprised that Narcissa knew what her ex had been planning for tonight – it did surprise him that she managed to keep quiet about it to him.

"When do you want to have the Bonding Ritual performed?" Lucius asked and careful excitement glowed in the depth of his eyes.

"I don't have a particular date in mind," Severus replied calmly, taking a sip from his wine.

"Then we will perform it during the spring of next year," Lucius stated confidently, leaning back in his chair with an air of satisfaction hanging around him.

"Why next spring?"

"Our grandchild will be almost one year old then and it will be easier to let him or her attend then," the blond answered with a smirk.

Severus grimaced slightly at the use of 'our grandchild'. He was certain James Potter was howling with laughter right now – why did he also have to become a grandparent of that brat?

Studying Lucius' glowing face however he couldn't say that he regretted agreeing to perform the Bonding ritual. It had been years since he had been completely happy and he thought it was only fair he would finally grasp a bit of happiness for himself.

Even if that meant he would have to deal with being called a grandfather and having Potter and those canines as his in-laws.

Severus raised an eyebrow when a thought shot through his head. "Aren't you going to inform Draco and Potter about the missing information?" He doubted the two boys knew the complete truth. While they were practically glued to each other's hip – and wasn't that behaviour something he had thought he would never witness of his godson? – and Draco had adopted quite a protective aura, they didn't seem particularly worried. At least not as worried as they probably would be if they were told about the missing information.

Lucius grimaced and rapped sharply with his knuckles against the table. "No; I don't want them to needlessly worry. I already informed Draco that Harry will need his presence and magic more as the pregnancy progresses and that should suffice for now. Should something happen, then they still have the competent help of Remus."

"Don't you think they deserve to know?" Severus asked silkily. "It affects them directly after all. Especially Potter."

"The last thing Harry needs is even more worry," his lover replied brusquely. "He is already stressed out enough thanks to that bumbling fool – giving them this information will only enhance his stress and that is the last thing he needs."

Lucius' tone let the dark haired man know that he considered the topic closed for now. He didn't exactly agree with keeping that information hidden from Potter – what a difference with a few years ago when he couldn't have cared less which information was kept a secret from Potter – but for now he would let it rest.

It wasn't his place to inform the couple.

* * *

Somehow they ended up in Lucius' large bedroom. Now that he and Narcissa were no longer together, she had been given her own wing while Lucius had kept their grand bedroom. Severus had never been one to enjoy frivolities like his lover, but even he could admit that the bedroom was nicely decorated – most likely thanks to Narcissa's influence.

Large windows – reaching from the ceiling to the floor – were hidden behind equally large curtains, which were coloured a deep blood red. The walls were rather plain – they were simply painted a soft blue, which contrasted with the red curtains.

One large wardrobe stored all the robes and other clothing items with a single, narrow mirror standing next to it.

Lucius' bed was the absolute eye catcher in the room – it dominated the space with its sheer length and width and Severus had often wondered why one man was in need of such a large bed. As he didn't want to hear Lucius' elaborate speech, he refrained from questioning it every time he was in here.

Pale hands slipped underneath his sweater; cool skin against his warm stomach.

"What do you have in mind tonight?" Lucius breathed in his ear; a strand of his long, blond hair tickled his ear shell.

Severus snorted and turned around to face the man. "What? You're not going to use that book I gave you last Christmas?" he asked flatly.

A smirk graced pale lips. "I do have to admit that the journal you gave me was an appropriate gift. It is easier to write down my thoughts instead of hoping I remember them by the time I come across a Pensive."

He was met with a flat, unamused look. "Yes, because you obviously have trouble remembering those particular thoughts," Severus remarked sarcastically.

"I'm not getting younger, after all," Lucius hummed and smiled. "But no, we can use the journal next time. This evening I want you to decide."

"How gracious," Severus muttered and had to look away when he felt the corners of his mouth pulling up in an involuntary smile.

"So what do you have in mind?" Lucius murmured in his ear and let his fingers trail over the other one's arm, brushing over the dark sweater. His fingers left a blazing trail that seemed to linger long after his touch had disappeared.

Severus threw him an unimpressed look and pressed a hand against Lucius' chest, pushing him softly, but insistently towards the bed.

"Lie down," he instructed him. There was no way he would verbalize exactly what he wanted; Lucius _had said_ he could decide tonight so he had no right to complain about that.

The blond seemed to catch on to that trail of thought, for he threw a knowing smirk at the dark haired wizard, but complied silently. He sunk down on the soft bed and slid backwards in an elegant way. He leant back on his hands and dark silver eyes studied the wizard in front of him.

"What now?"

Wordlessly, Severus reached for his wand and climbed on the bed, closing the gap between him and his lover immediately. With a non-verbal spell and a few quick snaps of his wand, both their clothing seemingly melted off of their bodies and reappeared perfectly folded on the chair.

A blond eyebrow crept up in curiosity. "Someone is impatient," Lucius murmured, smirking.

Black eyes narrowed in response to the taunting tone and in retaliation Severus placed his cold hands on warm skin.

A hiss escaped through clenched teeth. "How on earth do you manage to have such cold hands?" Lucius complained and grabbed the offending hands, turning them in his own hands.

"Why do you keep whining about it?" Severus retorted, but allowed Lucius to pull him completely on the bed.

"I suppose it's my duty then to warm you up," Lucius whispered against his cheek.

Severus wanted to give a scathing remark – weren't Malfoys supposed to be above such ridiculous lines? – but his mouth was covered by warm lips and he couldn't stop himself from responding to the kiss, which steadily started to pick up intensity and heat. Fingers traced meaningless patterns over skin and the dark haired wizard couldn't help but tensing up when a thumb rubbed back and forth over a slightly raised scar right in the middle of his back.

It was a thin, jagged line of about two inches long; a result of a curse he had failed to block during the Final Battle.

Before he could snap at the blond, the thumb disappeared and hands were caressing his sides; finger tops almost tickling him. A soft kiss was pressed against his collarbone and Severus accepted that gesture as the silent apology Lucius had intended it to be. The older man knew that his lover was somewhat sensitive over a couple of his scars and while he personally didn't see anything wrong with touching those places as well – after all he was attracted to Severus in his entirety, not only parts of him – he knew when to press a matter further and when to back off.

Severus paused, but as soon as those hands started to touch him more intently, he returned back to kissing the older man, giving him an occasional nip at his lower lip, which made the man twitch in response.

His own hands practically danced over the ivory coloured skin underneath him; touching some places fleetingly, while other patches of skin were touched more thoroughly. After being together for so long and having practically memorized all the sensitive spots of his lover, it didn't take long before Lucius completely relaxed underneath him; occasionally a groan or soft hum escaped him.

When Severus felt Lucius pressing his hips upwards, almost insistently against his arse, he decided that they both had waited long enough. His heart started beating faster in anticipation, his nerves high strung and tingling and he thought that if he concentrated enough, he would be able to hear his blood coursing through his veins.

Not wasting another second, Severus curtly summoned the small jar of lube Lucius kept hidden in his nightstand and slapped Lucius' hand away when the man tried to sneak it between his legs.

"Just want to help," Lucius breathed in explanation and he tightened his grip on Severus' hips, almost digging his nails in his skin.

"I thought I was the one in charge tonight?" Severus retorted and had to hold back a hiss when he started preparing himself. Despite the added charm to the gel like substance which would make preparing easier and less painful, it still stung a bit and he was reminded how long it had been since he and Lucius had last spent the night together.

"You being in charge doesn't mean I can't help," Lucius pointed out, but his eyes glittered when he focused them on Severus' lower half. "Although I can't say I mind the view."

If Severus wasn't currently preparing himself with one hand and holding himself up right with the other, he would probably have smacked or pinched the damned smug blond. As it was, he merely clucked his tongue annoyed and shook his head.

When he thought he was prepared enough – a small part in him admitted silently that he also was becoming too impatient to drag it out further – he rose up and shifted, until he was hovering completely above Lucius' lap.

Without giving the other man the chance to say something, he sunk down on him, biting his lip when it started to burn and sting a bit.

Once he was completely seated on Lucius, he opened his eyes – when had he closed them? – and glanced down, watching how a strong chest was quickly going up and down and limbs which trembled with the tension of holding back.

Once the burning had disappeared for the most part, Severus started moving – slowly at first, making sure he didn't accidentally slip off, but then he started to pick up the rhythm. It didn't take long for Lucius to move his hips in response and Severus leant forwards, bracing his hands against sweat slicked shoulders.

Severus would never admit it out loud, but he preferred this particular position – him being on top of his lover – above all the others they had tried out so far. Not only because it gave him most of the control, but also because it gave him a sense of security. Living through two wars and serving a master who was prone to lashing out, he had become rather paranoid and he detested any position which made him feel caged. In the unlikely event that someone would storm in the room to attack, he would at least be able to quickly defend himself when he was on top.

Lucius – while not sharing the same level of paranoia as the younger man – also preferred not being in any position which would leave him trapped; but he was willing to put up with it if it meant that Severus felt secure enough.

Never one for being loud, Severus merely let out a low groan when he felt himself being thrown over the edge and he vaguely felt Lucius following him soon with a quiet moan.

Once he had regained his bearings for the most part – which embarrassingly enough took quite some time – he dropped down next to Lucius, feeling quite worn out.

Fingers crept over his hand and with a soft sigh, he turned his hand, allowing Lucius to intertwine their fingers.

They shared a last soft kiss, before both let sleep take them away.

Severus might not be fond of Valentine's day, but he was willing to put up with the idiotic holiday if it meant he could cherish these quiet moments with his lover.

Now that he finally had a real future with the man next to him, he could only hope that these quiet moments would be more frequent.

* * *

**AN2: First time I write this particular couple in detail - I hope I didn't screw up too badly ^^;**

**So what do you think of it? Please leave your thoughts behind in a review!**

**Cuddles**

**Melissa**

**P.S. For more information about my upcoming and posted stories, please visit my profile.**


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